Novel writing is a coveted career of success for anyone, and for many, the struggle of doing so can be equated to an uphill battle. Still, it is a wide-open range of creativity for anyone seeking to pursue it. Just ask Billy Vera, a Grammy winning singer, songwriter, and actor. He tried his hand at the novel circuit with his book, A Dollop of Toothpaste, which offers a unique anachronistic world with complex characters and a fully fleshed-out world that anyone could easily step into just by imagining it. If Vera’s previous successes were any indication of his prowess in the arts, A Dollop of Toothpaste is set to be his next great masterpiece.
The story itself is an eerily close to reality look at what a dystopia could look like in the modern era, with the backdrop of the horrific 9/11 incident in the United States. It follows an intricate and enticing plot that combines comedic fantasy elements, politics in a satirical light, and details of gang/mafia to take readers on a wild ride through the events of the story that will keep them captivated the whole way through. Vera takes a great deal of care in keeping the story enticing, and this is heavily attributed to the realistic depictions of the characters and setting in which the book takes place.
Vera stated that to gain a great deal of understanding and insight into the places the readers would be visiting on their journey through the book’s events, he visited many of the locations. Thus, taking in as much detail as possible so that when they are touched upon in the novel, the details offer a wealth of fleshed out descriptions to illustrate the scene for readers perfectly. This, of course, is a powerful tool, but the book’s real shine is the authentic depictions of people in the cast of characters.
Vera’s meticulous nature extended even to the novel’s characters, detailing every little part of their lives realistically. Though one might not realize it, this granular development’s deeply impactful value makes all the difference when the story’s events unfold. This author maps out every detail of each character’s life. Diet, sense of style, daily routine, and each bit of possible information are handcrafted not merely to create relatable and fleshed out characters but also real people. Real habits and real personalities can relate to audiences and give them an extra layer of reality to the book with themes already walking that line of plausibility.
This brilliant mixture of anachronism and realism mixed with meticulous development creates an all-around delight of a read with satire and wit elements that can offer audiences an intriguing glimpse into a world that is but a looking glass away. Vera’s tale woven with handcrafted threads of detail is sure to draw any reader in and take hold of them until the very last page as audiences eagerly read page after page to reach the climactic finale of his expertly crafted tale. With a paperback release dropping this month on December 19th, readers should be on the lookout for this incredible tale coming soon.